This dependence of people upon one another for the satisfaction of their wants is one of the most important facts about community life.  It is not merely that A and B have the same wants, but that A is dependent upon B, and B upon A, for the satisfaction of their wants, that makes their wants common.

Mention the people, both inside and outside of your home, who had a share in providing for you the food you had for breakfast or dinner.

Mention all the workers that occur to you who have been employed in producing the clothing you wear; the book you are reading; the materials of which your house is built.

Show how the people who produce these things are dependent upon your wants for their livelihood.

Show that you are dependent upon other people for your education; for recreation.  Are other people dependent upon your education for their welfare?  Are others dependent on you for their recreation?

INDEPENDENCE OF THE PIONEER

The farmer’s life is often spoken of as an independent life.  His independence was certainly much more complete in pioneer days than it is now.  In regard to the early days of Indiana, it has been said: 

Give the pioneer farmer an axe and an auger, or in place of the last a burning iron, and he could make almost any machine that he was wont to work with.  With his sharp axe he could not only cut the logs for his cabin and notch them down, but he could make a close-fitting door and supply it with wooden hinges and a neat latch.  From the roots of an oak or ash he could fashion his hames and sled runners; he could make an axle-tree for his wagon, a rake, a flax brake, a barrow, a scythe-snath, a grain cradle a pitchfork, a loom, a reel, a washboard, a stool, a chair, a table, a bedstead, a dresser, and a cradle in which to rock the baby.  If he was more than ordinarily clever, he repaired his own cooperage, and adding a drawing knife to his kit of tools, he even went so far as to make his own casks, tubs, and buckets.  He made and mended his own shoes. [Footnote:  Quoted in Pioneer Indianapolis, by Ida Stearns Stickney, p. 11 (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis).]

We also read that in early New England: 

Every farmhouse was a manufactory, not of one kind of goods, but of many.  All day long in the chamber or attic the sound of the spinning-wheel and loom could be heard.  Carpets, shawls, bedspreads, tablecovers, towels, and cloth for garments were made from materials made on the farm.  The kitchen of the house was a baker’s shop, a confectioner’s establishment, and a chemist’s laboratory.  Every kind of food for immediate use was prepared there daily; and on special occasions sausages, head cheese, pickles, apple butter, and preserves were made.  It was also the place where soap, candles, and vinegar were manufactured.  Agricultural implements were then few and simple, and farmers made as many